2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Adams, PA - Tax Credits & Rebates

What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Adams?

Source: https://www.dsireusa.org/

The phrase "solar incentives" refers to financial incentives designed to encourage the use of renewable energy by making solar panels more affordable. Various types of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill, may be available to you. Some incentives may be handled by the state of Pennsylvania, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions are effective at the point of sale for your solar system. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the value added by your solar system when calculating how much property tax you need to pay on your house.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar performance-based incentives may be available to you if you have a solar system that produces over a specified (generally small) amount of electricity. This category of incentives is generally handled at the state level. You can sell the SRECs you receive to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you receive in return is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get once your solar system is up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Adams utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some places, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in others you may receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund after the purchase of your solar system. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The rebates are usually applied before tax credits are calculated.

Federal Solar Incentives

When someone says "solar incentives," you probably think of federal incentives first. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system must have been installed on a property you own after January 1, 2006, for you to be eligible for the credit. Originally, the ITC covered 30% of all costs (panels, labor, equipment and accessories), although this amount has fluctuated slightly over the last few years between 26-30%. The installation date of your solar system will determine what percentage you are eligible for. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

To understand exactly how much money the ITC could save you, speak with your local Adams solar panel installation expert.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act laid out new provisions for the ITC, now referred to as the Clean Energy Credit. Now, solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed by the end of 2032, may be eligible for a 30% tax credit. This percentage will then decrease slightly each year until the end of the current Clean Energy Credit in 2035. The expansion to the program also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, starting in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Adams solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions regarding the new Clean Energy Credit and how it may apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more might be claimed at multiple levels. On top of federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. These incentives might be offered by your county or municipality, or by the Pennsylvania government. Some are available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Adams

There are a number of different solar incentives: those offered by local utility companies, those provided by the Pennsylvania government and those offered by the federal government, to name a few. Solar energy utilization has increased tremendously in the last 15 years, thanks to these incentives. When you're ready to switch over to solar energy, talking to your local Adams solar panel installation expert is a great first step.